


For the Sake of Us

by foxjar



Category: Moonlight Garden (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Love Triangles, Minor Suh Hyewon/Lee Dohwa, Multi, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxjar/pseuds/foxjar
Summary: Dohwa gives Yoosun her true name — and more.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Yoosun/Lee Dohwa, Yoosun/Lee Dohwa/Suh Hyewon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	For the Sake of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xenocuriosa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenocuriosa/gifts).



Yoosun first experiences Dohwa's true name in a letter. Although she's been gone for months, the truth is only coming out now, as if an afterthought. She wonders how long Hyewon has been privy to such information, how long she herself has been kept out of the loop. It isn't an intentional insult from the woman she still craves — or she doesn't think it is, at least — but it still carves a deep gouge into her heart all the same.

She runs her fingers across the ink-stained page, feeling the shape of it. The paper crinkles beneath her touch, curling at the edges as it tries to hide its secrets. When she reads the name aloud, she tastes the sounds in her mouth.

"Sekyung."

The name is new to her lips, and it surprises her how right it feels. She says it over and over again, as if the repetition could summon the woman herself. If she were here, Yoosun wonders if she would scold her for living in such isolation, away from family and friends and love. When she closes her eyes, she can see the sadness wash over Sekyung's face, the passionate empathy she would bestow upon her.

Someday Yoosun might be able to hear her true name in person, but it already feels like it's too late. She already lost Sekyung to Hyewon, and as much as she's tried to tell herself that it's fine, she still yearns for her. Leaving was supposed to make things easier for all of them; the distance was supposed to ease her pain, but the vagueness woven into Sekyung's letters hurt more than silence would. She rarely speaks of Hyewon, and even then, it's only briefly and after Yoosun has pressed her for updates on her wellbeing. Sekyung is trying to be considerate of her feelings, even with miles and rivers and mountains separating them. Even with such distance to divide them, she is still cared for, although not in the way she craves.

Yoosun wants to see her face, to cup her cheeks in her hands as they smile and laugh as one. No longer living in Hyewon's shadow, she doesn't feel as if she belongs back with them — in a place full of such painful memories — but she supposes she might just have to carve out a place for herself there again.

By Sekyung's side.

The pull is oddly strong, drawing her away from the new home she's tried to build up and back to the people she once called her companions, for better or for worse. In her letters to Sekyung, she never spoke with much detail on where she has been living, nor who she has been spending her time with. The answers would have been bleak, likely upsetting Sekyung further, which is the last thing Yoosun wants.

Or close to the last thing, at least.

Hyewon's reaction to her return is as she expected: warm but wary, arms wrapping around her in a loose hug but eyes still flashing with confusion. There's a hint of suspicion deep in her eyes, too, as if she thinks Yoosun might be here just to steal Sekyung from her. While the assumption isn't correct, it isn't exactly wrong, either.

"It's good to see you," Hyewon says carefully. "You'll always be welcome here, it's just —"

"Unexpected. I know." Yoosun offers her a tight smile.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you were coming back?"

Yoosun thinks back to what Hyewon told her before she left, about starting over and being friends this time around. But a friend wouldn't covet what the other wanted so badly. A friend wouldn't let that sort of thing come between them.

Coming back has just complicated her heart further. She doesn't know how she's supposed to feel about anything anymore: Hyewon, Sekyung, this place she once called home. Every step she takes is familiar, but this place no longer feels welcoming; its bonds with her have been shattered. Furniture has moved and so many new smells invade her nose — fresh spices, unfamiliar perfumes — and she realizes that she has been displaced. She alone is the anomaly, a thorn among roses.

"Where is she?" Yoosun asks, and from the way Hyewon's mouth twitches, she can tell she's still nervous about having her around. With how she acted before — how she might act again — Yoosun isn't offended or even surprised. If she ever had the chance to come in and sweep Sekyung off her feet, she isn't sure whether or not she would be able to suppress the urge. No matter how much she wants to remain on good terms with Hyewon, and no matter how much she tells herself that she has matured.

_I wouldn't trust me, either. Not around the woman I love._

When she's finally able to see Sekyung again, Hyewon has her hand on Yoosun's wrist, grip loose as if she could prevent the worst from happening. She has no power over Yoosun's heart, but she likes to pretend she has control over how she acts, and it almost throws her back into the life living as Hyewon's double.

Yoosun is her own person now, and nothing can change that. No one can take her life away from her, not again.

Despite the solemn mood of the room, Sekyung is all smiles and gracious greetings when they meet, hands clasping hers, pulling her away from Hyewon. Her hair is still the same chestnut brown Yoosun came to love; the medicine to suppress a flower maiden's blooms has been working well. A sense of pride swells up in Yoosun at the sheer determination Sekyung possesses to save lives and prove the world wrong.

These halls were once Yoosun's home, but no longer. Now it is Sekyung who leads her through them as if she is a stranger, unfamiliar with her prior place of residence. In a way, she would be right; this place hasn't been her home for a long time. But still, Sekyung leads her by the hand, filling the halls with her voice. She tells Yoosun about the progress with the medicine and everything else she's been up to. But she never mentions her and Hyewon, and that somehow hurts even more than the truth might.

"How have you been?" Sekyung asks once they've found a place out in the courtyard to sit together. All around them the trees shiver in the breeze, filling each awkward silence with their music.

 _In pain,_ Yoosun almost says. _Always wanting more than I should._

It would be so easy to lean just a few inches closer, to kiss her like she's dreamt of for months now. Knowing Sekyung, she isn't sure if she would pull away; despite everything that's happened, she's remained conscious and respectful of Yoosun's feelings. Although it's mere kindness, the mercy still draws her in, making Yoosun adore her even more.

She still remembers when Sekyung — or Dohwa, back then — had a flush of worry dart across her face when Yoosun said that she'd help Hyewon come around. Although Yoosun wants Sekyung more than she's ever wanted anything or anyone, she wants her happiness, too. And that means having Hyewon to kiss her and make love to her whenever she pleases, to worship every inch of her as the marvel that she is.

It's greedy of her, but Yoosun reaches out to run her hand through Sekyung's hair, brushing back her bangs. Although dark eyes peer at her with expectation, this has to be all there is. She isn't sure if her heart could take more fighting with Hyewon, more being trampled on as nothing but a shadow. The past needs to stay in the past if she is to survive.

Hyewon approaches them from beyond the trees, shoes crunching the leaves beneath her feet, and Yoosun smiles wryly. She should have expected her to be watching; if anything, maybe she just held the thought deep down, far enough to where it didn't seem to matter anymore. The idea of Hyewon trusting her is absurd, after all.

"I can see that you're hurting," Hyewon says, tone sharp, and something about the sheer malice in her voice makes Yoosun cringe. "We're friends now, aren't we? And that means we should be there for each other. But that doesn't mean that you can just swoop in uninvited and —"

Sekyung touches Yoosun's hand, then reaches for Hyewon's with her free hand. "Can't we all just —"

The words lie unspoken, and Yoosun brings her fingers to her lips, kissing the soft skin. Sekyung's eyes dart between Yoosun and Hyewon, hoping for some sort of answer, but no one speaks; no one has the word for the idea swimming in her head. Only Sekyung can shed light on what is inside of her.

Yoosun tries not to let her heart be swept away with hope, but it still hammers in her chest, begging for relief. Her skin itches where Sekyung is touching her, begging for more but too afraid to ask.

"You can't mean what I think you mean." Hyewon thins her eyes, but somehow she doesn't look angry, instead merely curious. "You know how I get with you."

"But it's not like it's just anyone," Sekyung protests. "It's Yoosun, and you said so yourself: we're all friends now."

"Friends, yes, not —"

Sekyung squeezes both of their hands tight, and she can see a flicker of emotion pass through Hyewon's eyes.

"Don't you trust her? After everything we've been through?"

Yoosun appreciates her perseverance, but it isn't that easy — not for Hyewon, and not for Yoosun, either. The thought of sharing Sekyung, if that is what she's proposing, makes her shiver with both apprehension and hope. After so long, she finally has some shred of light to hold onto, and she isn't sure how she's supposed to feel, especially knowing how easily it can be torn away.

The idea of happiness being close enough to nearly touch terrifies her. Between both Yoosun and Hyewon lies Sekyung, the thinnest of threads but strong like silk.

They both fall again to Sekyung's charm, as they had so long ago: her stubbornness, her bright smile, her desire for all to be well in the world. She pulls them both closer, as if distance is all that ails them, and in a way, she is right yet again. The warmth at being so close to another person floods through Yoosun.

_It's been so long._

_So, so long._

Sekyung kisses her first, and although her lips are smooth against her own, it is the sensation of being touched at all that sets Yoosun's heart aflame all over again. Hands cup her cheeks, bringing her closer and easing into the world of possibility.

Beside them, Hyewon huffs and stamps her feet, but before long Sekyung sits back, lips parted. Yoosun appreciates the flush on her face: the redness painting her cheeks, the spark in her eyes. 

Then Sekyung leads Hyewon closer, bringing her to stand before Yoosun. When they kiss, Yoosun remembers all of the times she helped her through her blooms: all of the pain, all of the sorrow, but there was desire, too. She feels it stirring up within her, winding her up, but then Hyewon pulls away, fingers tracing her own lips as if to seal the memory on her skin.

"I know it's a lot to ask," Sekyung says before taking a long, deep breath. "For both of you. But could your feelings for me bring us together, somehow?"

She's right; it's a lot to ask, and more than Yoosun ever thought she'd be willing to give to be with her. But things are different now, and when she looks up at Hyewon, she sees someone she wants to be close with again — without the manipulation, without the expectations to be someone other than herself.

"Is this what you want?" Yoosun asks, and Sekyung nods, bringing their hands together: three friends, three lovers.

Although Hyewon sighs as she sits beside them, there's a warmth in her voice that Yoosun wasn't expecting. "If I have to share with anyone, I'm glad it's you."

As difficult as this may be, with Sekyung torn between them, maybe it won't be so bad. After a while, the painful fluttering in Yoosun's chest might even ease as her trust in people grows. She can learn to overcome her darkness; it'll just take some time.

 _And what better way to be united,_ Yoosun thinks, _than with love?_


End file.
